Amazon in Talks to Acquire Globalstar, Sending Shares Surging After Hours

Globalstar shares exploded to an 18-year high in after-hours trading Wednesday after Amazon entered talks to acquire the Louisiana-based satellite company, touching $85 per share — a 24% surge from its last close — as investors priced in a deal that could reshape the global race for low-earth-orbit dominance.

The move vaulted Globalstar (NASDAQ: GSAT) to its highest level since early 2008, driven by a market capitalization of $8.81 billion heading into the session. The stock had already more than doubled over the prior year and gained 12.2% since January 1, but the after-hours report supercharged those gains well beyond Globalstar's 52-week high of $74.88.

For Amazon, the strategic logic centers on assets that money alone cannot quickly replicate: licensed radio-frequency spectrum rights, an operational ground network, and a functioning fleet of low-earth-orbit satellites already serving enterprise, government, and consumer customers. Amazon's satellite internet service, Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, has launched approximately 200 satellites since April 2025 and faces a Federal Communications Commission deadline requiring roughly 1,600 launches by July 2026, a target the company asked regulators in January for more time to meet. Absorbing Globalstar's infrastructure would compress that timeline and hand Amazon a revenue-generating satellite business well ahead of schedule.

The complication is Apple. In November 2024, Apple took a 20% equity stake in Globalstar worth approximately $400 million at the time and committed an additional $1.1 billion in upfront infrastructure prepayments to expand the satellite constellation, a $1.5 billion total commitment. Globalstar is the company powering the Emergency SOS via satellite feature in newer iPhone and Apple Watch models. Since that investment, dramatic appreciation in GSAT shares has grown Apple's unrealized gains on the equity position alone to approximately $1.1 billion. Any Amazon acquisition would require negotiating Apple out of its stake, resolving contractual obligations tied to satellite infrastructure, and securing long-term continuity of features now embedded in hundreds of millions of Apple devices.

The competitive backdrop makes the timing of these talks particularly charged. Bloomberg reported in October 2025 that Globalstar was already exploring a sale and had held early-stage discussions with Elon Musk's SpaceX at a valuation near $10 billion. SpaceX's Starlink operates more than 10,000 satellites, serves over 9 million users globally, and is estimated to generate between 50% and 80% of SpaceX's total revenue. Globalstar already carries existing launch agreements with SpaceX for its next-generation satellite constellation, creating an unusual dynamic in which a potential rival bidder also functions as the company's current launch provider. On Wednesday, the same day the Amazon talks surfaced, CNBC separately reported that SpaceX had confidentially filed for an initial public offering at a valuation exceeding $1.75 trillion, a figure that would make it the largest IPO in U.S. history.

Regulators will scrutinize any deal on multiple fronts. Spectrum concentration sits at the top of the list: acquiring Globalstar would hand Amazon control over licensed frequency bands that cannot be easily replicated, raising questions about competition in satellite broadband, IoT asset tracking, and emergency communications. National security reviews of satellite infrastructure transactions are standard, and consumer pricing across rural and maritime markets currently served by Globalstar's network would attract additional attention.

Amazon declined to comment, and Globalstar did not immediately respond. Talks remain ongoing and no agreement was announced. The next formal data point arrives around Globalstar's May 7 earnings report, where analysts project the company will narrow its net loss to approximately 1 cent per share, down sharply from 16 cents a year earlier — fundamental momentum that supports the company's surging valuation with or without a buyer at the table.